Revenge
by Imascaper
Summary: 2 children are missing, can team Gibbs rescue them or are they already too late?
1. Chapter 1

This Fic is to help me blow off steam from yet another failure of the "justice system" to protect my nephew and neice from their abusive mother. Anyone wants to protect their kids...DO NOT move to Las Vegas, NV...all the so called "justice system" is geared to is the Casino's that is all the "Law" here protects. They do NOTHING to help the children of abuse. Any and all dates are fictional, all actions of abuse will be real. I have changed the kids' names to protect them, and no the military are not in anyway involved in the real life drama..just putting the Dad into the Army so I can get Gibbs to come play! All the usual disclaimers go here..I only own the characters that arent in the show.

July 1998

He hasn't stopped crying since he was taken away from daycare the day before by CPS. His cheeks showed the red stains of tears, along with the very distinctive hand print just below his right eye. Its the first time she has ever hit him..well a hit that left a visible mark anyway. He and his sister sit in the cribs CPS has set aside for very young children, they are scared and confused..where is Mom and Dad?

Less than 2 days later he was allowed to see the people he loved. His Mom, Dad, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncle...and wonder why they wont take him home with them. A few days later he gets his wish, his Dad has temporary custody he will be going home finally. He will be a good boy, Mommy wont want to hurt a good boy.

July 2000

She has done it again, this time no marks on his face though..she learned her lesson the first time. The bruising can easily be explained, a young boy plays rough doesn't they? The red welts across his back are the only sign that something is wrong. CPS is again called in but the children remain in the now shared custody of the mother and father. The case is closed with no evidence to substantiate the claims of abuse. He just has to keep being a good boy, Mommy wont hurt a good boy.

August 2005

He has finally come forward to tell of the abuse his mothers new boyfriend is inflicting upon him. Being lifted off the ground by his arm, hung over a neighbors fence so the neighbors dogs can nip at him. The kicking, pinching, slapping are so routine that he doesn't mention them much anymore. He has to be strong for his sister, so far she has been spared most of the abuse.

October 2009

She has started punching him now..never hard enough to leave a mark. The police have been called over 15 times in his short life. When his Dad had tried to protect him from one of her rages he was arrested for domestic assault, the charge was dropped a few days later, but the damage was done. No one can help him, she just seems to be able to lie her way out of everything. She broke his gameboy last week, screaming at the top of her lungs just because he took too long to come out to supper. His sister is no longer safe, she is silently enduring the hair pulling, the hits to her back, the screaming in her face. If Michael can handle it so can she.

Present day

Gibbs strolls through the bullpen coffee in hand. The driving rain outside making the office seem darker somehow. Reaching his desk he hears his name being called from above. Director Vance needs to see him in his office at once.

"We have a situation in Las Vegas" Vance tells him. "a woman was reported missing yesterday by her ex-husband, a Lt. Mark Wallace. Seems the woman has failed to return from a trip to Disneyland along with their 2 children. Michael age 14, and Joanne age 12. An amber alert was triggered nationwide this morning, but she has at least a 48hr head start. You were personally requested by a local LEO named …...Sgt. Jack Trip...do you know him?"

"No, not off hand" Gibbs replied "I'm sure the FBI is already involved, why are we being sent out?"

"Lt Wallace is somehow related to someone high up in the Senate. SecNav called me this morning asking for our help. There is something you need to know about this before you read the file" Vance continued. "There has been claims that the children have suffered some abuse at the hand of the their mother. CPS, local law enforcement, and MP's haven't been able to make anything stick yet. So its unclear if the children are in imminent danger or not. If the father is to be believed the local PD has been involved over 20 times, with only 3 reports being officially filed."

Gibbs got up from his chair as Vance continued "The airline tickets are in that folder your team flies out at 2200 tonight."

He walked out without even acknowledging the Director's final remark.

**A/N I was advised to not even publish this, but heck I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. As stated earlier the abuses are real, the names, dates, and kidnapping are not. I have only touched the surface of the abuse, (I know the abuses here aren't a lot but I don't plan to air all her dirty laundry) but I wont put anymore in unless its used as a flashback for one of the characters. I plan to whomp on the mother so if you don't like don't read any further. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Same disclaimers, I plan on making the mother suffer some in this chapter, you are forewarned. I am going to use fake names for casinos as I don't want any issues from them. Any and all mistakes in the evidence collecting, forensics and whatnot will be mine. Obviously I'm not involved in any way with law enforcement. **

She tried to force her eyes open, but they just wouldn't budge. She had no idea what happened, last thing she knew she was driving to Disneyland to give her kids a vacation they would never forget. Michael and Joanne had been arguing for over an hour and had given her quite a migraine. No matter what she told them or how loud she yelled they had continued their petty bickering. That is all she remembered.

Las Vegas

Tony, Ziva, Tim and Gibbs marched through McCarren International Airport headed to the car rental kiosk. The team was oddly quiet having spent some of the 6hr flight studying the report given to them by Vance. Missing children cases tended to make them all edgy, this particular one had them keyed up even more.

"Our first stop is our motel, second will be SE Command Metro Substation. We have a meeting with Sgt. Trip at 0900, we will meet with the Lt right after lunch. McGee I want you to get any information from the current bolo's, I want any and all leads double checked, hell triple checked! Tony, you and Ziva find the family of Lt. Wallace I want them all interviewed again see if you can get anything more out of them." Gibbs barked from the drivers seat.

"Um boss, are we getting another car, cause unless we are there is no way we can do all of that" started Tony.."not that not having another car would be that big a problem.." Tony finished after getting the famous Gibbs glare.

They arrived at a Motel 6 not too far from a Casino..hell looks like everything isn't very far from any Casino. Their rooms were adjoining, on the first floor. On the small dining table were several pamphlets some were sightseeing brochures, and of course some were from the Casino's nearby with coupons for discounts on the buffet.

Tim had his laptop fired up and already working on getting the information Gibbs wanted. Leroy looked at young agent he would be sharing the room with, silently glad it wasn't Tony. Tony was by far his favorite agent but could get on Gibbs' nerves rather quickly. Gibbs took a few minutes to rest his tired eyes, he tried to remember anyone with the name of Trip. Try as he might he just had no idea who this man was. He was brought out of his thoughts by McGee's soft voice near him "Boss? Boss? You awake?"

"No Elflord I'm fast asleep and you are only a bad dream. Of course I'm awake!" Gibbs snapped.

"Boss, we just got a hit on the bolo. The car that was reported to be being driven by the missing woman was just found in a local Casino parking lot. It is being towed to the crime lab right now."

"Lets go, get Tony and Ziva!" Gibbs turned to look at McGee, but found he was already on his way out the door.

It only took the team 30 minutes to get to the crime lab, getting through security was another issue. Just flashing their badges didn't get them the immediate access they were accustom to. The officer at the door refused to allow them into the facility until he had clearance from higher up. Last time a fed had been in there one of their biggest cases was thrown out of court, and HE wasn't gonna be the one to be reprimanded and sent to the worst area in town!

A few minutes later a older gentleman came through the door to greet the visitors. "Special Agent Gibbs?" The whole crew stood up and came over to the older man.

"I'm Agent Gibbs, NCIS, we are here to assist in the search for the 2 missing children and their mother. And I don't appreciate being made to sit out here waiting!" Gibbs glare was in full blown fury mode.

The older man, unaffected by the agents attitude, introduced himself "I'm Capt Walker, please follow me. The car isn't here yet but will be in about 10 minutes. Do you mind if I ask why NCIS is taking an interest in this case?"

"Are you worried that NCIS will try to steal the spotlight if the children are found alive?" asked Gibbs.

"Look I'm not getting into a pissing contest here, but the FBI has already stepped in causing some hurt feelings, now we have NCIS...whats so different about these 2 kids? Parental kidnapping isn't uncommon, we get upwards of 10 cases a month. Why do these 2 get special treatment?" his genuine confusion plainly evident.

"When I get a special request from my Boss' boss.." Gibbs stopped there trying to let the officer draw his own conclusions.

"Yeah I hear that, been in that spot a time or two myself. Here's what we have so far, the mother picked up the children at 8pm on Friday night. She was taking them to Disneyland and was supposed to return Monday near noon according to the schedule she gave her ex-husband. He reported them missing Monday night at 5pm after not being able to reach her cell phone. We pulled his cell records... he attempted to call her almost 20 times since noon Monday. We checked with the hotel that she was supposed to be staying..but they never checked in Saturday morning. We verified through her employer...a ...Jack's Hotel and Casino..that she requested the time off over 3 months ago, and she clocked out Friday at the end of her regular shift at 730pm. We have footage from the security camera in the parking garage, showing her walking to her car, and driving out of the garage at approximately 745pm. They are searching for any footage of her car being brought back to the casino, but the lot it was parked in doesn't have the best coverage." he paused for a moment waiting for any questions.

"The last cell tower her phone accessed was off I-15 about 45 miles south of the Nevada border into California. She had an incoming call, but we haven't been able to trace it. It was a restricted number and we are still waiting on the provider to see if they can get a number for it, we did check it against the family on the fathers side, but we cant find any living relatives on her side."

A soft tap interrupted the briefing "Cap, the car is here and your not gonna like it."

A soft thump woke the bound woman, "ahhh your finally awake are you? I hope your not overly comfortable, I would hate to not be doing my job." came an unfamiliar male voice.

"Who are you, where am I? Where are my kids?" she asked

She never saw the slap coming and the pain from its impact was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

"You don't get to ask any questions!" came from the unknown man

"Please tell me are my kids ok?"

Her face stung as a second slap was felt.

"Talk again and I'll.."

"Hey! What are you doing? We don't get to touch her till the boss says too!" a second male voice said.

"Yeah, yeah, but she tried to open her trap! You know how I feel about these worthless pieces of ..." his voice trailed off as the sound of footsteps could be heard from outside the room. The men quickly left the woman alone closing the door behind them. She could hear raised voices straining to hear the words, but to no avail. The voices were getting softer as her captors were obviously moving away from her position. A few shouts were heard, then 2 quick gun shots, followed by a thump. She assumed one of the men was dead..was it the one who had struck her, or the one that stopped it she wondered. She didn't need to wonder for long as it became abundantly clear which one was beside her.

The inside of car was covered in blood, both front and back seats. There didn't appear to be any body damage so the thoughts of a possible accident scene was quickly dismissed. The CSI team began methodically going over their new crime scene. Photo's were taken, evidence collected, the team had obviously worked many scenes together, going over every inch of the vehicle trying to collect anything that might give them a clue to the missing children.

Gibbs and team headed over to the SE Command, getting a much warmer welcome than they received at the crime lab. After checking their weapons at the door to the station they were immediately taken to see Sgt Trip, the young assistant taking coffee orders before leaving them in the conference room.

"Thank you for coming Agent Gibbs, you come highly recommended I must say. We will have no issue working side by side on this. I know you have already been to the lab, sorry for the way you were treated over there. I was told you were brought up to speed on the case already so if there anything else you need just ask."

"Do you have the names, addresses, employers of the family so I can get my agents started?"

"Oh, I'm sorry I was under the impression you were already given that. Lets see...ah yes here it is. There is no family on the mothers side. We were able to locate most of the fathers family here in town. There is still 1 sister living out of state...possibly Ohio or Wisconsin..we aren't sure she seems to move around a lot and doesn't keep in touch with the family here. When we find her I'll let you know."

A soft tap on the door alerted the group to the arrival of coffee, donuts, and bagels.

"I thought you might like a bite to eat, according to the water cooler chatter you have been quite busy for only being in town a few hours." was the quiet explanation before the assistant was back out the door closing it behind him.

"Well we seem to be really well known already Boss" was Tony's smart mouth remark.

"Sgt, if you don't mind would you enlighten me on how your squad already knows my teams every move?"

A small chuckle escaped the officer. "Well lets just say the way you drive is legendary and here in Vegas we don't get too many that drive that way...at least not for long. I had to call off 4 patrol officers who were requesting authorization to pull you over."

The laugh from Tony drew a very dark look from Gibbs a "sorry boss" was quickly heard.

"The father works from home he will be the easiest to find. The uncle is on vacation with his wife in Bermuda right now has been for the last 5 days. Poor guy had mostly sisters to grow up with, of which 1 works for a local telecommunications company, 1 is a nurse, and the last is a pizza delivery driver. We have spoken to all of them except the brother, they claim to have no knowledge of the whereabouts of the missing kids. Although none of them have anything nice to say about the kids' mother."

"Do you have any of the reports from the complaints of abuse? I don't see them in this file. We were told your officers had responded multiple times to both the fathers residence, and the mothers residence...is it common for no report to be filed?" asked Tony

"You know how nasty divorces get...they get angry..accuse each other of abuse..happens all the time. My officers are too busy with real crimes to be bothered to write a report every time we get a complaint of abuse when its her word against his. We would get absolutely nothing done if we did!" came the defensive answer.

This time the glare came from Tony. Before he could make any comments Ziva softly touched his leg, he looked at her and saw the warning in her eyes.

"Tony, you and Ziva take the car and go try to track down the nearest one on that list. McGee you stay here and do what it is you do so well. I want cell phone records on all the relatives going back the last 4 months. I want it checked against any known criminal element." turning to Tony and Ziva he said "why are you still here?" they quickly ducked out the door.

Somewhere in a secluded cabin-

Michael and Joanne silently sat at a table playing chess. Their mom went to get food yesterday and hasn't come back, there wasn't much here..wherever they are. They ran outside when they heard a car approaching. Oh thank goodness! But the pair didn't recognize the truck that stopped short after seeing the kids come out of the cabin. The driver reached up the pull the mask down over his face, can't let the kids see his face. Michael grew scared when he saw the man pull a ski mask over his head he grabbed Joanne's hand and ran back to the cabin. Slamming the door shut he grabbed a chair and jammed it up under the door handle..he had seen this done in a few movies. The kids ducked down behind the furniture trying not to be seen from any of the windows.

Slowly the man approached the door, he softly tapped "Mike, Jo I have food here." The children looked at each other. Joanne softly whispered to Michael "what do we do Mikey?" "shhh" was the equally quiet answer.

"I'm gonna put the bags here on the porch, don't eat it all right away...I won't be back for a few days, can't risk anyone following me. I need you to listen, are you listening?" no reply was heard "I brought you a few games too, I'm sure your probably bored only playing chess. I have a few books in here too just in case you decide you want to read." footsteps could be heard moving away from the door, they heard the engine rev up and quietly disappear.

"Mikey?" Jo asked after what seemed like an hour but was only 10 minutes "I'm scared"

"We need to try to find help, lets go get the food. Tomorrow we start looking around, we wont go far from the house, we just need to find other places to hide."

He got up and peeked out the windows to try to see if the truck was really gone. When he felt safe enough he opened the door and quickly grabbed the bags of food.


	3. Chapter 3

**Again same disclaimers, the kids, family, are mine, Gibbs and the gang aren't. I do not personally know any of my local PD so all them are made up too. Store is fake too :)**

**Want to say thanks to SherryGabs and Kristenhaert13 for the encouragement to keep going.**

"Boss we just got a hit on one of the mothers credit cards! It was just used at a grocery store not far from the Nevada/California border about 45 minutes go." came the excited yell from McGee. "Address coming up in just a minute...got it! 23985 South Las Vegas Blvd."

"McGee get us a car NOW!"

Sgt Trip tossed him his keys, "Here use my car it has GPS and I just filled it up this morning. Blue Chevy Tahoe in the Employee parking, near the gate." He didn't bother to ask the man to be good to his baby...he had already seen the dash cam footage from earlier that day.

Tony and Ziva had arrived at the home of one of the Aunts, a Tracy Wallace according to the information they had. Never married lived in the small 4 bedroom home with her niece Flora age 25. They approached the gated front door noting the neatness of the outside of the home and the flower bed lined driveway. Only 1 vehicle was present a black Dodge Intrepid. Tony rang the door bell, they could hear a yapping coming from in the house and the barking of bigger dogs from around back. The main door opened just a crack "Hello? Can I help you?" before they could answer they heard a "hang on let me put him out first" and the door closing. They heard another door open and bang shut to their left Ziva quickly looked around the corner of the house to see if the person was trying to run. But she got her answer as the front door again opened and young woman, probably the one known as Flora, stepped out into the entry way. "Can I help you?" she asked again.

Tony and Ziva flashed their badges "Special Agents DiNozzo and David, NCIS, we would like to ask you a few questions about your cousins if you don't mind?"

"Have you found them? Are they ok? Let me call Momma she will be relieved to know they are alright!"

"I'm sorry no they have not been found yet, do you mind if we come in?" asked Ziva

"I'm not allowed to let anyone in, you will have to come back when Momma gets home."

The two agents shared a look...Momma?

"It is really important that we speak with you about them, would you call her and see if it is alright for us to come in?" Ziva tried again.

The woman surprised them both by agreeing to this "Give me a minute to get the phone" she left the front door open as she went back inside. She was back at the door moments later with the phone to her ear "Momma there are some people here that want to talk to me about Michael and Joanne...yeah hang on.." she hit a button on the phone "ok Momma your on speaker now."

"Special Agents DiNozzo and David NCIS ma'am we would like to talk to Flora about your missing nephew and niece." started Tony "would be be alright if we sat down somewhere that she would be comfortable?"

There was no sound for a few seconds, then some movement and a door slamming shut. "I'll be there in 20 minutes." and the line went dead.

"I'm sorry, she has been really worried about Mikey and Jo, I heard her yelling at Uncle Mark last night on the phone. She usually works nearby so it shouldn't take her 20 minutes, more like 10. Would you like something to drink? I can start a pot of coffee if you'd like, it should be done by the time she gets here." Flora offered.

"No thank you, but we appreciate your offer though" Tony's smile made the woman blush a deep red. She turned and went back into the house leaving the front door open.

Just a few minutes later they heard the squealing of brakes from a large truck. A Chevy 4500 with a lift on it came to an abrupt halt. A short stocky woman climbed out of the truck and was on the phone rattling off some technical jargon as she walked up the driveway.

"Hi I'm Tracy, can I see your ID please?" They showed her their badges, she studied them closely and seemed to accept them. Marched the rest of the way up the drive way and unlocked the security gate.

"Flora, go ahead and talk to these nice people. Make sure you give them whatever they need. Do you need any water? Milk? We have diet Pepsi, Coke, Mt Dew..." she looked over at the agents waiting for a response.

"No thank you we are good. We would like to talk to Flora alone if that is ok?" asked Tony

"Oh yeah, umm no problem" she turned to Flora "remember to lock the doors and reset the alarm when they leave"

"Yes Momma I know the drill." she rolled her eyes at the older woman.

"Don't forget to.."

"Yes I know Momma, keep the doors locked, don't let anyone in, anyone comes to the door call you. I love you!"

"Love you too see you later" and out the door she went.

"When did you find out your cousins were missing?" asked Ziva

"Monday night when Uncle Mark called. Do you know he is filing for sole custody again? Kathy is mean them, Jo was in my room a few weeks ago changing into a shirt we got her...there were bruises up and down her back, she begged me not to tell her dad...said her mom told her she would send them to Juvie and they wouldn't see any of us again. So I didn't tell anyone" the regret shined in her eyes

Tony's cell began to ring "Yeah Boss..." he began writing something down "..I got it boss...You sure..yeah we got it.."

"Do you know if your Aunt or maybe your Uncle has a house or any friends that live between here and California?" Tony asked

"Well Uncle Sean has a friend who lives somewhere south of here..another town that has casino's in it..I don't know the name of it. His name is Anthony he is really nice..his wife is nice too..Maria I think her name is...oh I remember now..Laughlin.. .Lowton..something like that...I think"

"Do you mind if I use your restroom?" asked Ziva

"No, go right ahead...down the hall to the left.. second door, thru the laundry room"

Tony kept Flora busy asking her questions about Mikey and Joanne so his partner could do a quick search. When Ziva returned motioned to Tony all was clear.

"Well thank you for your time Flora, it was nice to meet you..here is my card if you remember anything or hear from your cousins will you call me?" Tony used his charm smile

Flora turned bright red "sure!" she cast her eyes down "please find them, please?" her eyes filled with unshed tears.

"We are doing everything we can to bring them home" Ziva told her.

"They have a hit on one of the mothers credit cards, Gibbs and McGee are going to check it out. We are to keep interviewing the family" Tony told her "next up Lt Mark Wallace, according to GPS he lives less than a mile away."

The drive to the grocery store should have taken almost an hour, they arrived in just over 30 minutes. An employee who was standing outside smoking, saw the men get out of the car, tossed his cigarette and held open the door. "welcome to Sparky's my name is Andrew if there is anything you need and can't find just let me know" He was shocked when the two men flashed badges "Ok...what can I do for you gentlemen?"

"Have you seen any of these people?" Gibbs asked holding up the pictures of Kathy, Michael and Joanne.

"Yeah Kat is here every weekend to buy lottery tickets. Those are her kids, Mike and Jo."

"Were they here this past weekend?"

"Yeah she stopped in early Saturday morning just as I was opening up, got her usual tickets..a few snacks for the kids..they were excited about going to Disney. Why?"

"Have you seen her since then?"

"No"

"Can you tell me why her credit card was used here less that 3 hours ago?"

The clerk turned a few shades whiter.

"No I don't have any idea why her credit card was used, look I've had a very busy morning anyone could of used it."

"Do you have security cameras?" asked McGee

"Of course I'm out in the middle of no mans land here! I gotta have security camera in case some hoods try to bust up the place."

"Do you mind if we have a look at today's footage?"

"Sure, the office is through that door" he pointed to the back

Gibbs gestured with his hand, "after you"

The closer they got to the back the more nervous Andrew became. He stopped and pointed "there is the office, the recorder is in a locked box in the cabinet to the left of the door, here are the keys"

"Why don't you open it for us?" Gibbs suggested

"Ummm look I gotta keep an eye on the front of the store, you guys do whatever it is you want I wont get in the way."

"You are going to open the cabinet, give McGee here the recording, then we are gonna sit down..here or at the police station and you WILL tell me everything you know!" The fire in his eyes was enough start the man squirming.

"I don't know anything I swear! Kat just said if anyone came in using one of her credit cards to go ahead and do it."

"When did she say that? Come on answer me!"

"She said it Saturday, after she sent her kids out to the car"

"Now why would she tell you something like that? Did she seem nervous like maybe someone was watching her?"

"No, but it wouldn't surprise me..her ex is a real peachy guy. Been abusing the kids for years and blaming her for it! She was fighting for sole custody ...has a hearing next week...but she was afraid he would win..seems he has a relative in the government somewhere..that's how he keeps getting away with it! Don't you see she has to protect those kids!"

"She told you it was her ex that hurting the kids?"

"Yeah told me all about him, real loser..hope I meet him in a dark alley...he wont bother her or those kids again!"

"So where is she hiding the kids?"

"I don't know, she didn't want me to get into any trouble for helping her..that's the kind of woman she is...looks out for others ya know?"

"All I know is this woman and 2 kids are missing, and could be dead. Did you recognize the guy who used the card?"

He refused to look Gibbs in the eye.. "No don't know him, never saw him before, and don't expect to see him again"

"McGee get a hold of Nevada Hwy Patrol I want a unit here ASAP."

"on it boss" McGee stepped out of the room.

"You cant arrest me, I haven't done anything wrong!"

"We are going to start with credit card fraud, and I'm gonna tack on harboring a fugitive, murder wont be far behind that!"

"Murder? I ain't murdered nobody! Figures you government boys would be on the fathers side, you know he isn't really military right? That Lt crap is just part of a government coverup."

"All I care about is these 2 missing kids! I don't care which parent they live with, or who lies better, all I care about is 2 young kids, missing, maybe cold, hungry..could even be out there dying right now! And all I want out of you is where they are!"

"I DONT KNOW!" he shouted back at Gibbs.

McGee stepped back into the office. "Boss, we got a problem."

Gibbs stepped out of the managers office. "Well McGee today would be nice!"

"Oh yeah sorry Boss. I uploaded the security footage to Abby, I'm surprised he has state of the art equipment out here. Did you know he is using.." a headslap stopped his rambling "Right Boss ok so anyway Abby has already found our credit card transaction. The card was used by our guest here..Andrew Winters. But check this out, he bought a disposable cell phone along with food a child would normally perfer to eat. Cookies, pretzels, Coke, Lucky Charms, milk, some bread, lunch meats. Then 5 minutes later, a truck pulls up outside, he takes the stuff out and hands it to the driver. Abby is working on getting us a plate. As for Mr Winter... he has multiple convictions for fraud and 1 charge for attempted bribery of a state official that one is still pending trial. But get this, he had a restraining order out on him by 1 Mr Joesph Wallace of Las Vegas...appears our Mr. Winters here threatened the Sr Mr Wallace at his home in the summer of 2005, Mr Winters was dating the ex-Mrs Wallace at the time"

"Good job, see if Abby can get anything more off the security footage."

Gibbs was about to go back into the office when the same truck they had just seen on the video pulled up out front. Gibbs gave the signal to McGee for him to circle around back and try to cut off his possible escape.

Gibbs opened the office door "Well Mr Winters, you haven't been honest with me. Now we do this my way. Looks like one of your associates is outside, do this the right way I'll talk to the prosecutor tell them you helped in the investigation. The wrong way and I'll make sure your record shows that you are involved with child molestation, you know how they are treated in prison don't you? What's it gonna be?"

Andrew looked horrified "You can't do that can you?"

"Just watch me" then and there Andrew knew...he was a dead man.

The alarm for the door sounded throughout the building "Drew? Drew? Where are you? I dropped the stuff off at your cabin like you told me to. You owe me 100 bucks! No trying to welch out of it. Not gonna let you off the hook this time..." He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the barrel of a gun pointed at him. "Ummm Ok Drew, just calm down. I'll just go home and wait for you to bring it to me..no need to get violent." It was then that he noticed the face behind the gun wasn't Drew. Some guy with cold blue eyes that froze him in place. "Easy Mr. if your robbing the place the safe is in the back, I wont tell the cops about you." McGee came up behind him "Put your hands behind your head!"

"You're cops? Is Drew ok? Did anything happen to my brother?"

"What cabin did you take the food too?" demanded Gibbs

Silence

"The bags of food that Drew gave you this morning, where are they?"

Silence

"McGee I want any and all property registered to these 2 yahoo's and I want it yesterday!"

"On it Boss"

Gibbs immediately called Sgt Trip with an update and requested backup, then he called Tony.


	4. Chapter 4

**I had to put some of the back storyline into this chapter. I noticed I was doing a horrible job of keeping the time line. So sorry for any confusion...the kids were taken on Saturday, Tuesday is when Gibbs and the gang arrive. **

**I want to thank SherryGabs—you have no idea how much those words keep me going. **

**Sunday-**

Greg laid perfectly still after his childhood friend fired 2 shots in his direction..he had instinctively turned and fell down pretending to be hit.

Thomas had waited for his brother to go back into the cabin..he had to check on Greg..he intentionally fired to miss his friend, but the way he fell! He was praying he hadn't accidentally hit the man closer to him than his own brother. When he reached his side he was relieved to find him uninjured. To keep up appearances Thomas grabbed Greg's arms and began dragging him into the woods. When he was out of sight of the cabin, Greg softly released his best friend.

"Here take this" he shoved a slightly burnt piece of paper at him "don't lose it!" Greg shoved it in his shirt pocket. "Good now listen carefully...The woman has the kids stashed at the old Samson house..there is some food at my cabin, you'll see it in bags on the table...take it to the kids...she didn't leave them much food, please keep an eye on them...if things get bad I'm gonna need you to get the kids out safe."

"Why don't we just call in a tip to the Crime Stoppers Hotline and tell them where to find the kids?"

"Only 3...well now 4 of us know where the kids are...they will kill me..and that's not just a threat...if they hear that someone tipped em off to the location of the kids...they would know it was me. If you don't hear from me by tomorrow night...get the kids out... promise me!"

"I promise man, I promise"

"Good! Now don't move till I get back in the cabin...good luck..." he brushed some debris over his friends "body" and headed back to the cabin.

Greg waited an extra few minutes trying to figure out exactly what to do...he wanted no part of this or any crime. How was he going to get the kids out without making himself an accessory? He wasn't sure that he shouldn't just call the police right now...but knowing Andrew...he would kill Thomas...he couldn't be responsible for the death of his best friend. So he decided to do just as Tom asked him...he would watch over those kids, and make sure his friend got a fair shake when it all came crashing down. When he arrived at Tom's cabin, the food was there on the table just as Tom told him, as he was looking around the kitchen he heard a truck coming and looked out the window. It was Chase's truck..and he was coming from the direction of the Samson house...so Chase was one of the few who knew where to find the kids...he stashed that knowledge away for later use. He waited for the truck to get far enough out of sight, he grabbed some MRE's from the shelf, a sleeping bag, and a rifle..no way he was going up there without a weapon. He knew if he had to he would have no problem killing Andrew, Chase, that woman...if it meant protecting those kids. He skirted the small cabin checking for any movement. He saw a boy reach out the door and grab something off the porch. He quietly crept up to the house, and taking a chance he peeked in a window. The kids were emptying out the plastic bags..good it was some food...he took his bags over to the door, setting them down softly next to the bag still sitting there. He then moved off to the tree line, and waited for the kids to take the rest of the bags in. He found himself a spot not too far away where he could see the house and the approaching road.

Tom entered the cabin to find Kathy and Andrew sitting at the table sharing some ice cream. They stopped talking when they saw him. Kathy was the first to move, she got up and slapped Tom across the face. "What the hell was that for?" demanded Andrew

She whirled around and tried to hit Andrew across the face but he knew it was coming and grabbed her arm. "You better calm down right now Kat! Tom had no choice but to shoot him! He was going to go to the police! Do you want your little plan to fail now?" Andrew yelled, Kathy's eyes were on fire "Don't you dare speak to me like that again? Do you hear me! Your just as expendable as whoever that was is! I don't need you! I never did! I will take my kids and go to Disneyland, and have them home again Monday..and you would be out $25,000.!" Her face softened "besides your the one taking all the risks...there is nothing to trace back to me. I'm just a poor woman who was kidnapped, and tortured, her kids taken away from her...who do you think a jury will believe? It won't be you! I can play anyone! I've got counselors who believe everything I tell them, Metro always believes my sad mommy is being picked on lines. NO ONE is going to ruin my life you hear me?" She was too busy screaming to notice Tom behind her, she never saw the gun butt swing to meet her head, and she never felt the floor rise up to meet her limp body.

Andrew looked at Tom with shock but also a little bit of admiration. He never thought his little brother would ever get a backbone. He leaned down and checked for a pulse "You killed her! I can't believe you actually killed her! Quick get out of here, and unless I call you, don't leave the house till Tuesday when you make the usual run to Cali, be at the store at 9 you hear me? Come back right after... I'll give you $100...deal?"

Tom slowly nodded.

"Good now go home, I'll take care of the body. And don't worry it will all be fine."

The next time Kathy awoke she had a pounding headache. There was no part of her body that didn't hurt, and she realized she was _very_ cold. She tried to move a little to relieve some of the pain, but something was holding her down. She tried to scream but couldn't..the duct tape over her mouth prevented any sound from escaping. She tried to calm herself down, this was NOT part of the plan. She tried to remember what had happened...all she could remember was being in the kitchen with Andrew...what had he done? How did she get here? She began to struggle against the restraints, but the material just dug deeper into her wrists and ankles. She tried to breathe through the worst of the pain, but nothing could calm the panic that flooded her body when she saw the mountain lion laying out sunning itself less than 100ft away.

**Early Monday-**

Greg had entered the house while the children were asleep. It was almost as cold inside as it was outside. He started a fire in the fireplace, he was sure the kids would appreciate some warmth. He looked around the house trying to find the kids, wanting to reassure himself they were ok. He found the kids huddled together in the master bedroom laying on the old bed that sat in the middle of the room. He went back out and grabbed his sleeping bag, he reentered the house unzipping the bag. He spread it over both children, relieved when they snuggled into it. He brought several logs in and set them down near the fireplace. Stoking up the fire he could feel the warmth starting to ease into his tired body. He was confident the children would remain asleep, so he settled himself into one of the ratty old chairs that had been left behind when the Samsons' children had inherited the place and cleaned it out. He missed the older couple, they had been good to him when he had been getting into trouble as a teen...they were responsible for getting him back on the straight and narrow. With the fireplace warming him, and warm memories of the older couple, he drifted off to sleep.

Michael and Joanna woke up feeling warm and comfortable, Mikey was content to curl up under the blankets and just go right back to sleep. Blankets? What blankets? They didn't have any when they fell asleep. Without opening his eyes, he felt the soft material covering them. Definitely a blanket of some sort. Did mom come back during the night? He jumped up out of bed waking Joanne,

"come on I think Mom is back!"

"Mikey let me sleep" she moaned

"Come on I think Mom is here, look we got a blanket!"

"Mom? She came back?"

"Yeah I think so, now come on lets go see"

She reluctantly started to get up "do you think she is still mad at us?"

"I hope not come on hurry up!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming"

They made their way out to the living room and had quite a shock.

A few hours later he was awakened by a loud scream. Slightly disorientated he looked around trying to remember where he was. Oh yeah Old man Samson's place...what was that scream...THE KIDS! He shot up out of the chair just in time to see the children run back into the bedroom. He threw a few more logs on the fire, grabbed his coat, and gun then headed for the door. He paused just before exiting the house "Don't worry I'm not here to hurt you, there is enough wood to keep the fire going for several hours. If you run out of wood or need anything, and I mean _anything_you just open this door. I wont be too far away, I swear on all that is Holy I wont let anything happen to you." he softly closed the door behind him...wondering if the kids would believe him.

**Present-**

Tony and Ziva were shocked by the appearance of Lt. Wallace. The man before them would never pass as military. He obviously was out of shape, the beer belly that looked more like an 8 month pregnancy, the total lack of authority the man exuded...well lets just say even a blind person would know this was no Lt in the Army.

"Lt. Wallace?" asked Tony

"Lt? No, my name is Mark Wallace, who are you?"

"Special Agents DiNozzo, and David NCIS, we would like to ask you a few questions."

"NCIS? What the heck would NCIS want with me?"

"We are here about the disappearance of your 2 children."

"They haven't disappeared, their mother has them! You find her and you find them. I just hope she is found before she does any more damage that she already has!"

Tony and Ziva shared a look

"Has your ex ever tried to take them before?"

"No, of all the stupid crap she has pulled taking the kids wasn't one of them."

"The reports we have state that there is allegations of abuse against her? Would you like to elaborate on any of it?"

"The fact that she just keeps getting away with it...my son has gotten to the point that he refuses to go back to her house. I had to have the police here because of the huge scene she was making outside. I don't believe a child should be punched because his grades dropped below a B, or to have furniture thrown at them because they didn't make their bed. How many kids have a parent that goes into their room, empties out their dresser onto the floor, strips their beds and then scream at them that their room is a mess? Please don't answer that, I would hate to know how many kids actually go through that on a daily basis. Look I know that there is worse abuse being done to kids than what she had done, but it doesn't mean its not abuse! Killing my son's dog to try to make him come home? What kind of mother is that?"

"How is your relationship with your ex-wife?"

"What relationship?...she is a manipulative bitch! I wish I had never met her! Only downfall of that would be I wouldn't have my kids." the man buried his face in his hands giving way to tears. "Please, I'm not below begging...Please find my kids...Mikey and Jo have been through so much, I shouldn't of let her take them to Disney, if I'd of said no they would be here now." he paused when his phone rang.

Tony motioned for him to not answer it yet, as he called Abby to try to get a trace. He motioned for the man to answer

"Hello?...yes...are they alright?...where? Look I don't have that kind of cash! Yeah I heard you no cops...can I at least talk to one of them? Hello? Hello?" he stared at his phone. "He said they want $250,000. or they will kill them"

Tony heard exactly what he hoped to hear. "Tony it came from a prepaid burn phone, I've triangulated the cell towers the call bounced off...and bingo! It came from near the Nevada/California border. Tony, oh hang on Timmy is calling me...Tony I'll call you back McGee has something for me to look through." Tony turned back towards the two other occupants of the room.

"Ok just relax Mr Wallace. Did they want $250k each or for both?"

"I think he said for both, there is no way I can come up with that kind of cash! I barely make my rent payments on time."

"Did he say where and when to make the drop?"

"No he said he would call back in 12hrs. He did say the kids were safe..for now..what am I gonna do?"

"You are going to remain calm and do exactly what we tell tell you to do."

"Kathy what the hell have you gotten into this time!" he turned to the agents "I hope you find her alive...cause I want to be the one to kill her!"

"We are going to have a Metro officer over here with you just in case the kidnapper calls back. The important thing is to remain calm, and follow the instructions given to you by authorities. We are doing everything we can to get them back safely." Ziva reassured him.

In the car Tony was finally able to get through to Gibbs cell. "Boss, we got a ransom call, $250K, Abby was able to trace it, and it originated out by the Nevada/California border. I'm sure Abby will be sending you the information as soon as she can...Ok we are on our way."

"They have 2 in custody and search and rescue is on the way."

"Boss, according to Abby, Tony was with the father when a ransom call came in. She was able to triangulate the cell towers that the cell bounced off of. The call definitely came from this area. If the person uses it again, Abby might be able to narrow that down more...if the GPS in the phone is turned on."

"McGee you take that guy" pointing to Andrew "and I got this one" pointing to Thomas. "I want those kids found today!"

**Okay the fun starts next chapter. Thought this was a good spot to stop..seeing as I need to get some work done. I'm still torn between letting her die in agony or letting Gibbs break her...I will be fixing the previous chapters to put the time line in perspective.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I was hoping this is the last chapter, but it seems I ramble on a bit too much for that. So guess there is at least 1 more chapter to go. I'm happy that CPS is finally taking this case a bit more serious than previous times...here's hoping that they manage to pull their heads out of their butts and protect the kids. Restraining order was denied so just gotta keep my nephew safe until the custody hearing. My niece refuses to admit her mother has done anything wrong but, if the CPS guy is as smart as I think he was...he saw right through the scripted answers she gave him. Right down to using words that she didn't know the meaning of when he asked her. I dont own NCIS.**

**Tuesday AM-**

From his vantage point with his binoculars Greg could see the activity down at the store. Several NHP cars were now onsite, along with 2 local news crews. He was pretty sure it was almost over, the kids would now be safe. Now how to alert the proper person to the children's location, without being brought into the crime itself. He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a truck speeding up the road. He grabbed is rifle, if it was Chase..he hoped it wasn't..it would mean he might have to kill one of his friends. He laid perfectly still with the gun barrel pointed towards the house.

Gibbs was pacing as several NHP officers secured the store, and both suspects vehicles. He wanted another crack at both men. He stared at both of them..each in different police cars. When Thomas was the first to turn away from his glare he knew this one would tell him what he wanted to know. He approached a young NHP officer and requested access to the prisoner, which was immediately granted. He climbed into the cruiser sitting beside Thomas.

"You know what I think?" Gibbs quietly asked, when he got no response from the man he continued "I think you know where the kids are, and you ARE going to tell me. My gut is telling me that your not the bad guy here. Him on the other hand" he pointed to the other car "I believe he would rather that the children were dead. He used to date the mother, and was also accused of abusing those kids." he caught the look of surprise pass through the mans eyes. "You didn't know that did you? Yes he was accused of holding Michael by his ankles over the next door neighbors fence so the dogs would bite him. There is also several accusations of him punching Michael, throwing him across the room. He even threatened the boys' elderly Grandfather, who took out a restraining order on him the next day. That man has a violent past, you don't even have a speeding ticket..that tells me a lot about both of you. Why are you protecting him?"

Tom looked at him with unshed tears in his eyes. "Mr...you are so wrong, I KILLED HER! I didn't mean to... she...she just went wild...I've never seen anyone act like that...I...I hit her in the head with my gun...I only meant to shut her up...I didn't mean to kill her..I swear..." Tom could no longer hold back the tears.

Gibbs waited for the sobbing to stop "Where is her body?" he demanded

"I...I don't know...Andrew said he would take care of it. I was to go home and not leave the house, until today...He told me to make the usual delivery to California and come back here...he was gonna give me $100 for it."

"You didn't take that food to Michael and Joanne?"

He shook his head

"McGee! Tell Abby she can stop trying to correlate the location of the kids using the data from today's delivery!" McGee nodded to acknowledge the order

"Tell me where the kids are"

"The kids are safe, I have a friend watching over them...he had nothing to do with this...He was the only one I knew I could trust to keep them safe. He wanted to call Crime Stoppers to give an anonymous tip to the kid's location. But he knows full well that Drew would kill me if that happened..there was only 3 of us who knew where to find them. Kathy, Drew and me, he would know it was me that made the call"

"He can't do anything to you now, so I'm gonna ask again...where are the kids?"

Tom looked straight into Gibbs' eyes, and after a few moments of deep thought he gave in "They are at the old Samson house, I'll take you to it, but you gotta let me go or Greg wont let you anywhere near it. You need to know this Mr...Greg isn't all there...in the head I mean...but like old man Samson used to say he has a heart of gold. He has given his word, and he would rather die than break it. Please, I got him into this..please let me get him out of it. I can't let you kill him because I was too stupid to stand up for myself."

Gibbs climbed out the car and pulled the young officer to the side. "Release this one"

The officer was shocked "What the hell? Your gonna let one of the kidnappers go? Are you crazy?"

Gibbs got right up in his face "I am in charge here, and I just ordered you to release this prisoner to me, you got a problem with that Trooper?"

"Yes sir I do! I have orders to hold these 2 until Captain Waters gets here and I fully intend to do just that!" his determination was admirable, but Gibbs had no time for it.

"I'm not getting into a jurisdictional pissing match here Trooper! McGee get over here and take this one to our car"

"I can't let you do that sir!"

When the Trooper reached for his gun, a fellow Trooper put a quick halt to it. "Joe, he knows what he is doing...let the man do his job. If he gets away it will be on their asses not ours." He didn't look totally convinced, "I don't like this Steve, he is gonna take off with OUR suspect..and your just gonna let him go?"

"Yes Joe we are. They have done this a hell of a lot more than us. That man right there" he pointed to Gibbs "he knows what he is doing, and we will sit back and let him do it. All that matters is finding those kids. And unless I have misread him, Tom will be brought right back here as soon as Agent Gibbs gets what he wants from him." They watched as the Agents took off in a cloud of dust.

**Somewhere off in the woods**

Kathy woke to the sound of a helicopter, for the first time in 2 days she allowed herself to believe she might actually live through this.

Greg watched as Chase's truck came into view, he was obviously in a very big hurry. He watched him pull to a stop, jump out of the truck, and reach for something behind his back. As soon as he saw the gun in Chase's hand he fired.

Everyone at the store heard the echoing report from the hunting rifle. **(A/N been a long time since I was near any gun fire, but I remember hearing the echos during hunting season.) **

Tony hung up the phone and turned to Ziva "Gibbs has a lead on the kids, one of the suspects claims to have killed the mother but is leading them to where the kids have been kept. We are to go to the store and meet with the local LEO's...try to get the remaining suspect to give up the location of the woman's body." He looked over at her "Think you can get it out of him?"

The smirk on Ziva's face was the only answer he got.

Greg remained hidden, his rifle trained on the body laying on the ground. He was torn between hoping he hadn't killed him, and hoping he did. He was debating going down there to check on him, when he heard another vehicle approaching. He kept the gun trained on the body watching for the new visitors to show themselves.

"Its right up here about a mile, its the only house you wont miss it. You are going to want to slow down, there is a sharp right turn coming in a few minutes." Gibbs eased his foot off the gas pedal and allowed the car to skid around the corner. Flooring it a few seconds later. "Ok its just ahead...there "he motioned with his head "you can see the roof to the left." Gibbs saw the tailgate of a pickup sitting near the cabin.

"Who is that?" he demanded

Tom looked closely "That looks like Chase Zuker's truck..what is he doing here?"

"I've sent his name to Abby, Boss"

As they got closer they saw the body laying near the front fender. McGee pulled his sig from its holster as Gibbs skidded to a halt. They both got out of the truck with weapons drawn, using the vehicle for extra cover. "Wait! You gotta let me talk to Greg! Let me out!"

"You are going to sit there until we find out what is going on." Gibbs moved to the body, he kicked the pistol away before checking for a pulse, he signaled McGee..dead. He moved back towards his vehicle, opening the door for his prisoner. Tom walked to the front of Chase's truck and yelled out "Greg its me! Its ok, its over! These guys are Fed's, they are here for the kids!"

Gibbs and McGee kept their weapons sweeping the area. Moments later they saw a man dressed in hunting camo's started coming towards them with his rifle slung behind his back.

"Stop right there! Drop your weapon!" yelled Gibbs

He stopped in his tracks, set his rifle down, put his hands in the air showing his surrender. The children ran out of the house heading straight for Greg. "DONT SHOOT! DONT SHOOT! Dont hurt him! Please dont hurt him!" both children stopped in front of him trying to make themselves bigger to protect their friend.

"Mikey, Jo it's ok, they are here to help you. You are going to to home now." The kids looked suspiciously at the new visitors, then back to the man who had been so kind to them.

"Michael, Joanne I am Special Agent Gibbs, Naval Criminal Investigative Service. I'm here to take you home to your Dad." the kids remained perfectly still refusing to allow their friend to come to any harm. "I'm going to put my gun away now, its alright we know he has been helping you. We aren't going to hurt him."

"You wont put him in jail will you?"

"I just need to talk to him, if he has done nothing wrong then no he wont go to jail."

Jo looked to Michael unsure what to do. The decision was taken away from them when Greg put his hands on their shoulders and started walking towards the Agents. He stopped short when he realized the children might see the body laying on the ground. Gibbs saw the sudden change in his demeanor, and for a moment wondered if he had just changed his mind about turning himself in. But he noticed where the mans gaze was and knew what he was thinking. "How about we go into the house and get your things?" he turned to McGee and motioned toward the body, as he headed into the house with Greg and the kids.

"Don't worry I don't have any guns hidden in the house Agent Gibbs" when the kids were out of sight Gibbs turned to him "What the hell were you thinking? You should have called the police the minute you knew where those kids were! You could be charged as an accessory to kidnapping!"

"If I had told where the children were, I have no doubt that Andrew would have killed Tom. Did Tom tell you he saved my life? Andrew and he were outside of Chase's cabin arguing, I tried to stop them, but both grabbed their guns. Tom shot at me, I pretended to be hit..he dragged me to the woods told me to hold on to this piece of paper..." he pulled it out of his shirt "I'm sure this is meant for you" he handed it over. "He told me to look after the children, and I did." he lowered his voice "If you could wait till after the children are gone to arrest me for killing Chase I would really appreciate it. They have been through enough." The kids came out with their backpacks "We are ready to go, have you found our Mom yet? She hasn't been back for a couple of days."

Gibbs didn't allow any emotion to show "No we haven't found her yet, but we are looking for her."

Michael's face turned slightly pale "I shouldn't say this, but I hope you don't find her. She abandoned us out here because we were fighting." anger starting to replace the earlier fear. "This was her last chance with me. I'm done, I don't want to ever see her again."

Gibbs looked at him for a moment "How would you feel if something had happened to your Mom and she wasn't able to come back? What if she is out there trying to come back for you?"

Michael let out a really odd sounding laugh "Then you don't really know her" he turned and went out the door.

McGee had put a blanket he found in the back of the truck over the body of Chase Zuker. Tom was sitting in the far back of the truck making room for the children and their rescuer. Gibbs had called the Lt to notify him the children were safe, and they would be taken to St Rose Hospital Seinna campus to be checked out by doctors. The reporters flocked around the vehicle as Gibbs drove back into the parking lot of the store, each trying to get the first pictures of the rescued children.

"McGee give our prisoner back to NHP, then I want you to direct the local LEO's to the cabin..to collect any evidence they can...and tell DiNozzo to get over here!"

Tony came jogging up a few moments later "Yeah Boss? Probie said you wanted to see me?"

"Ziva get any information yet DiNozzo?"

Tony gave a quick glance into the back seat "Yeah Boss, and the local LEO's are checking on it right now."

"I'm taking the kids to the hospital, to be checked over. I expect an update as soon as you have something. I want you to take the statement from this gentleman here...Greg this is Agent Anthony DiNozzo...would you go with him and give him your statement?" Joanne grabbed on to his arm "Please Mr Agent, Sir... can he go to the hospital with us?" when it looked like Gibbs was gonna say no Joanne turned on the waterworks, but Greg stopped her "Let me help the police men here...you are safe with Agent Gibbs, and your Dad will be waiting for you when you get there. You will forget I'm even here the minute you see him."

Michael was the first to reply "No we wont! Besides my Dad and Aunts, and Uncle will want to meet you!"

Gibbs decided on a compromise "After he talks to my Agent he can come up to the hospital to visit you BUT, we need his help here right now."

Greg looked at Gibbs like he had 2 heads, he was fully aware that he would be arrested for murder the minute the children were out of sight. Why was this man telling the kids he would see them again? He climbed out of the car...into a swarm of reporters yelling questions at him.

**Ok hope you enjoyed it, I had to rescue "my kids"... just couldn't stand to let them sit helpless even if it is only a story. Dont know when I'll have the next chapter up, but I will be having fun...at her expense next chapter!**


End file.
